Agglomerate beverage modifier comprising whole grains, method of producing the agglomerate and milk-based beverage comprising same

Abstract

An agglomerate product comprises a significant percentage of whole grain materials. A whole grain dry component comprising its native starch form is agglomerated with other dry components to provide agglomerates that are highly dispersible agglomerates, which comprise a dry blend substantially comprising whole grains. The agglomerates can be added to modify beverages such as milk products to produce a ready-to-drink beverage that provides a minimum of about ½ to 1 serving of whole grains per 8-ounce serving.

We claim: 
     
         1 . Agglomerates comprising:
 non-hydrolyzed, substantially non-gelatinized whole grains in an amount of up to about 80%;   up to about 40% dry fruit;   between about 0.1% to about 2% hydrocolloids;   up to about 12.5% fiber;   up to about 3.75% beta-glucan;   up to about 45% sweetening component;   up to about 2% lecithin; and   up to about 25% cocoa;   said agglomerates comprising a moisture content of up to about 7%.   
     
     
         2 . The agglomerates of  claim 1  comprising a minimum of about 20% non-hydrolyzed, substantially non-gelatinized whole grains. 
     
     
         3 . The agglomerates of  claim 1  comprising a particle size distribution of between about 70% to about 90% of particles sized from between about 100 to 1,000 μm. 
     
     
         4 . The agglomerates of  claim 1  where the non-hydrolyzed, substantially non-gelatinized whole grains comprise oat, wheat corn, rice, barley, millet, sorghum, rye, triticale, amaranth, quinoa, linseed, chia, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         5 . The agglomerates of  claim 1  wherein the non-hydrolyzed, substantially non-gelatinized whole grains comprise a whole grain flour. 
     
     
         6 . The agglomerates of  claim 5  wherein the whole grain flour consists of oat flour. 
     
     
         7 . The agglomerates of  claim 1  comprising a wettability of no more than about 300 seconds. 
     
     
         8 . The agglomerates of  claim 1  wherein the sweetening component comprises a nutritive sweetener, a non-nutritive sweetener, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         9 . The agglomerates of  claim 1  wherein the sweetening component comprises up to 45% nutritive sweetener. 
     
     
         10 . The agglomerates of  claim 1  comprising between about 5% and about 25% cocoa. 
     
     
         11 . The agglomerates of  claim 10  comprising between about 0.5% to about 2% lecithin. 
     
     
         12 . The agglomerates of  claim 1  free of cocoa. 
     
     
         13 . The agglomerates of  claim 1  comprising a bulk density of between about 0.3 g/mL to about 0.6 g/mL. 
     
     
         14 . The agglomerates of  claim 1  comprising a substantially spherical shape with porosity. 
     
     
         15 . A method of producing a porous agglomerate capable of disbursing into a liquid, the method comprising the steps of:
 forming a homogenous dry blend comprising non-hydrolyzed, substantially non-gelatinized whole grains in an amount of up to 80%, the dry blend comprising components of no more than about 200 μm;   agglomerating the dry blend to form whole grain agglomerates.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15  wherein the non-hydrolyzed, substantially non-gelatinized whole grains comprise oat, wheat corn, rice, barley, millet, sorghum, rye, triticale, amaranth, quinoa, linseed, chia, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15  wherein the dry blend comprises cocoa and further wherein the method comprises a separate step of applying lecithin. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17  wherein the applying lecithin is performed after forming the dry blend and before the agglomerating step. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17  wherein the step of applying lecithin is performed after the agglomerating step wherein the lecithin is applied to the whole grain agglomerates. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 15  further comprising a step of milling dry components comprising a size of more than about 200 μm prior to the forming step. 
     
     
         21 . A ready-to-drink milk-based beverage product comprising an amount of an agglomerated powder comprising between about 20% to about 80% non-hydrolyzed, substantially non-gelatinized whole grains, wherein the amount of agglomerated powder is from about 6% to about 33% based on total weight of the ready-to-drink milk-based beverage product. 
     
     
         22 . The ready-to-drink milk-based beverage product of  claim 21  comprising between about 1% to about 26% of said whole grains. 
     
     
         23 . The ready-to-drink milk-based beverage produce of  claim 21  comprising a viscosity ranging from about 10 cP to about 1,000 cP.